Our trip is 5 weeks:
Arrive Paris
1 week in Paris (rented apartment)
2 weeks bike barge Paris to Bruges
**** 11 days unaccounted ****
Possible 5 day cruise Helsinki - St Petersburg RTN
Exit Helsinki

WHAT TO DO between Bruges and Helsinki?
We're considering a motorhome for 10days but where to go? My husband and I 'showing' his 80yr old father Europe (we've been several times).

IF IT WAS YOUR ONLY TRIP THERE WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?

TIA

May I suggest spontaneity? Cafe-sitting, long walks, hopping a train because you like the sound of a town name, waking up one morning and deciding a Baltic island might be just the thing. Amsterdam along the way. Not planning is what I suggest, one of my favorite things. But I know it's a long shot.

Your 80 year old FIL is going to bike? Give the dud my compliments!

So, you are in Brugge and you need to be in Helsinki, in either 11 (to take the cruise to ST Pete) or about 14 days (if you just use Helsinki as an exit and stay 2 nights)

What would FIL like to see? Germany is a pretty obvious target if you are going to trek your way across. Would you like small to moderate sized places or larger centres? A theme (Brothers Grimm, Martin Luther, Goethe, Schiller, Bach?)

You could work your way east across the heart of Germany by driving and then go on to Prague, Dresden or Berlin before flying to Helsinki, for example.

Mme Perdu - thank you - that's what we'll be doing in Paris and enroute to Bruges. Just found our way to Helsinki via train (see below) which will cut our camping car down less than 10 days. I'm a photographer so I'm uber keen to get stock shots but know I have to maybe let that one go.

Aramis - yes he is the rider ... I'm not! Hate hills. My FIL will do whatever I come up with. Dunkirk is close so thinking a slow trip down that coast for him then back to Bruges to spend a day or so on this route to Helsinki ...

http://www.seat61.com/Finland.htm#.VPzUVvmUe8A

THANK YOU BOTH! I'll keep wondering and listening.

Aramis ... liking your thinking re Brothers Grimm! We had problems with one way car home hire thus a close trip then the train to Helsinki then the trip to St Petersburg ... I'd lOVE to do your suggestion for my photos but ... (sigh)

give your unused holiday to me. problem solved.

funny Sue ...

Consider spending some time in Amsterdam or Berlin/Germany. You could do both and take some day trips.

Go to Tallinn, Estonia from Helsinki. It is a wonderful town and lots of fun stuff to do.
you can spend 2-3 leisurely days sightseeing there.

You could take a train from Brugge to the German border, rent a car and drive through Germany, dropping the car in any other city before taking a train to Prague, perhaps, or continuing to Helsinki by train or plane. Minimal to no drop off charges for Germany to Germany rentals

Germany tour.

Thank you everyone ... at this stage flying to Stockholm the Sunday we get off the barge. Picking up a motorhome for eight days the the slow ferry Stockholm to Turku, overnight there then a train to (slow) Helsinki in time to catch the night ferry to St Petersburg.

In the eight days will head down into the top of Germany then back through Norway and back across to Stockholm. I'll let you know how many km's we put in. Coming from Oz it's not unusual for me to road trip an easy 2500km p/w.